Pzena Investment Management LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB)

Pzena Investment Management LLC lowered its position in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB - Free Report) by 26.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,798,807 shares of the bank's stock after selling 663,044 shares during the period. Pzena Investment Management LLC owned approximately 1.19% of Associated Banc worth $42,991,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in Associated Banc during the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Associated Banc by 49.6% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,747 shares of the bank's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 579 shares during the period. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Associated Banc during the fourth quarter valued at $56,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Associated Banc during the fourth quarter worth about $64,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Associated Banc during the 4th quarter valued at about $67,000. 82.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on ASB. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Raymond James lowered their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Associated Banc from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $28.00 price objective on shares of Associated Banc in a research note on Friday, January 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $27.11.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director John B. Williams sold 2,830 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.09, for a total value of $71,004.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 66,915 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,678,897.35. The trade was a 4.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Eileen A. Kamerick sold 7,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.71, for a total value of $172,970.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 49,495 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,223,021.45. This trade represents a 12.39 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.45% of the company's stock.

Associated Banc Stock Up 3.4 %

ASB traded up $0.72 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $21.96. 1,254,850 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,380,295. Associated Banc-Corp has a one year low of $19.76 and a one year high of $28.18. The company has a market cap of $3.65 billion, a PE ratio of 27.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $24.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $23.96.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.04. Associated Banc had a net margin of 5.15% and a return on equity of 8.24%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.19%. Associated Banc's dividend payout ratio is currently 116.46%.

About Associated Banc

Associated Banc-Corp, a bank holding company, provides various banking and nonbanking products to individuals and businesses in Wisconsin, Illinois, and Minnesota. The company offers lending solutions, including commercial loans and lines of credit, commercial real estate financing, construction loans, letters of credit, leasing, asset based lending and equipment finance, loan syndications products, residential mortgages, home equity loans and lines of credit, personal and installment loans, auto finance and business loans, and business lines of credit.